Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 404 must be what he longed for most.

Yan Song had just sat down in the room.

The cabinet's investigation wasn't going smoothly, and he didn't return until late at night.

After arriving home, he sent someone to summon Yan Liang. He learned that Yan Liang had made an appointment with Lu Jie outside. Although he did not know the details, he guessed that it was for important business. So he summoned a few of his advisors to talk.

This round of talks also did not go as planned. With the fall of the Liu family, the opposing party made rapid progress, successively taking down Yan Shu and Gao Hong. Now even the case in Tanzhou has been brought up again. The eloquent advisors who used to be so quick to speak are now sitting for half a day without being able to utter a single word.

Finally, Yan Song dismissed them and returned to his bedroom.

Before one boot had even hit the ground, the servant banged on the door.

"Reporting to the old master, something has happened again!"

Yan Song felt a wave of dizziness, and only after gripping the headboard with his hand did he say, "Come in!"

Who died this time?
The person pushed open the door, but lost control as he approached, tripped over the carpet, and knelt on the ground: "Master! The eldest young master has been cornered by Lu Jie and the Shen family at the private residence!"

"They forced the eldest young master to confess his crimes, and they even forced him to agree to the third young master and his wife's divorce!..."

"Divorce?!"

The preceding words hadn't bothered Yan Song much, but the last two words made his heart skip a beat!

He stood up: "Explain it clearly!"

The visitor then recounted the whole story in detail! Finally, taking a breath, he took out the divorce papers he had brought back!

"How could Liang'er be so foolish?!"

Hearing the commotion, the old lady also came out, wearing a coat: "How can he just let Lu Jia do whatever he wants?"

"Can't help him!"

Yan Song looked down at the two documents.

Two identical documents, exchanged in just a few words, clearly depicted the severing of ties and betrayal! Yan Liang's signature and fingerprint were also clearly visible on them!

"Old man!"

He slumped into a chair with a thud, and the old lady and the servants rushed to his aid in a panic!
"Divorce, divorce..." Yan Song raised his head with a trembling white beard, staring ahead with his cloudy eyes: "Do you know what this means?"

"This not only means that the two families will have no relationship from now on, but also that whether the Yan family is blessed with great fortune or falls into a quagmire in the future, it will have nothing to do with the Lu family!"

"It also means that from now on, Lu Jie can go all out against the Yan family! He no longer needs to be hesitant to act, and he no longer needs to worry that revealing the Yan family's secrets will accidentally hurt him!"

"Their move is not to save Lu Ying, but to save the Lu family. It's to completely sever the Lu family from this marriage relationship!"
"Even if the Yan family were to exterminate nine generations of their relatives in the future, it would have nothing to do with him!"

"It seems that this is what Lu Jie has longed for most all these years!"

"This Lu Jie is truly hateful!"

The old woman spoke angrily, her withered hands trembling.

“He is certainly hateful, and he certainly hates the Yan family, but why does Lu Jia seem to hate us even more than him?” Yan Song murmured. “She has planned every move in advance, as if she has no intention of leaving empty-handed once she has made her move!”

"Lu Ying married into the Yan family, so even if she dies, she'll be a ghost of the Yan family! Since she killed Madam Du, then she should pay with her life!"

"But Lu Jia's only goal is to use this crime to sever ties with the Yan family. Even if Lu Ying is dead, she will probably bring her body to court to exchange for this official document!"

Upon hearing this, the old lady also slumped down. In the past, the Yan family's plot to murder Lu Jie's wife would have been something they were perfectly capable of handling, and it wouldn't have been a big deal at all. Otherwise, why would they have come up with such a scheme in the first place?

But now they are surrounded by enemies on all sides!

The Liu family has fallen!

Yan Shu is dead!

Gao Hong is dead too!
Furthermore, the Jin family has also betrayed us!
The thirteen people closest to the Yan family are now under investigation by Yan Song!
Because it was necessary to investigate and prosecute these people, some others were also secretly wavering.

This is like removing a brick from the foundation; countless bricks collapse along with it, and the entire building is on the verge of collapse!

Even though they had already stopped trusting Lu Jie, it was just out of caution.

More than a decade has passed, and the scholar who was once powerless to resist being forced to marry a woman surnamed Jiang as his second wife has become a pillar of the imperial court.

Yan Song never considered completely severing ties with him. Lu Jie's status in the court and his weight in the emperor's heart were not to be underestimated. Moreover, he had extraordinary shrewdness and cunning. He was not entirely familiar with the Yan family's past, but he had at least a deep understanding of it!
Even if you don't use such a person, you should never make them your enemy unless absolutely necessary!

Yan Song thought that maintaining a distant relationship would ensure that everyone would live in peace. Little did he expect that Lu Jie, who had been submissive to the Yan family for more than ten years, would suddenly reveal his sharp edge so quickly!
"Raising a tiger will only bring trouble upon yourself!"

He grabbed the inkstone beside him and smashed it on the ground.

……

Lu Jia's calculations were quite accurate; it would take the servants more than half an hour to make a round trip from the Yan family's private residence to the main house.

The water clock dripped for a little less than half an hour, and the two divorce papers, whose ink was not yet fully dry, were already delivered back.

Lu Jia took it, and after confirming that it was correct, placed it on the table: "I would appreciate it if all the officials could bear witness."

Afterwards, the three men looked at each other and took turns taking out their seals to stamp the document.

For such a document, one seal would have been sufficient.

Now that we have these three certificates, even if the King of Heaven himself came, he couldn't say that the Lu family and the Yan family are related!

She took one copy and handed it to Lu Jie, and pushed the other to Yan Liang: "The procedures are all complete, so there's no time like the present. I'll come and pick them up right now."

"Young Master Yan, please lead the way!"

Yan Liang picked up the document, tore it in half with a swish, and then the pieces flew into the air. He then leaped onto his horse and galloped off into the street!

Lu Jie bowed to the Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Justice, saying, "Brother Li, you've worked hard tonight!"

The Vice Minister of Justice stood up: "Brother Lu, there's no need to be so polite. With such a major case, we naturally shouldn't be negligent. We still have some matters to attend to here, so please feel free to do so, Brother Lu."

As he spoke, he stroked his beard and looked at the few trembling officials standing behind the crowd—these officials had naturally followed Yan Liang out earlier.

Seeing such a scene, he knew that if he left, he would be reported to his superiors and held accountable. He was caught in a dilemma and could only shrink back in the crowd.

How could these Ministers of Justice be blind and incompetent?

While watching Lu Jia and Yan Liang clash, he also kept an eye on the three of them.

Now that the outcome is decided, those who were invited to hold a private court session should naturally have an explanation.

Under these circumstances, Lu Jiecai was the one with more status and qualifications to stay and help with the final arrangements. Lu Jia also had to rush to the Yan family to complete her last mission: to bring Lu Ying back. So, after saying goodbye to him, she turned around and got into the carriage with Shen Qingzhou, leading her men to follow in Yan Liang's footsteps.

Whenever I miss an update, I always have to put in twice the effort to get back into the flow and reconnect with my train of thought. It's both time-consuming and exhausting. So, I will never miss an update if I can. If I really do miss one, it's because something truly came up, and I ask for your understanding.